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KCET & Link Media Merge
10/22/2012
LOS ANGELES and SAN
FRANCISCO – L.A.’s former PBS flagship station, KCET, has
merged with Link Media, an independent non-profit media company that operates
the Link TV national satellite network and online international news portal,
LinkNews. The two are creating KCETLink, which will be available in 33 million
households via DirecTV and Dish Network, and 5.6 million households on KCET-TV
in Southern California.
KCETLink will be led by Al Jerome as CEO, with Link TV’s CEO and President Paul
S. Mason, becoming chief strategy officer, based in Los Angeles. The company
will be headquartered in KCET’s new production facility in Burbank, Calif. Link
Media will join KCET’s digital media team to focus on developing new technology
and programming for Web and mobile, such as an upcoming app that curates world
news videos for the iPad and Google TV.
Beginning Jan.1, LinkTV programming will be available on one of KCET’s three
digital multicast channels in the Southern California market, providing viewers
in the 11 counties of the Los Angeles market with access to Link TV’s news,
documentaries and music from around the world. In addition, “LinkAsia,” a half-hour
program combining state news from Asia with trends and commentary bubbling up
through social media, will be added to KCET’s current international news
broadcast schedule.
KCET’s primary channel will continue to air its own locally produced and
acquired programs, including “Doc
Martin,” “Foyle’s War,” “Primeval,” “Open Call,” “Huell
Howser” and “SoCal Connected.”
Link TV is available
as basic service on DirecTV Ch. 375 and Dish Network Ch. 9410. Select Link TV programming also airs
on 220 cable outlets, including in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco,
reaching an additional 22 million homes.
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